tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16096737857957030752012-01-31T19:22:28.446-08:00Seeking, risking, and making art, and sharing joys, challenges, successes and lessons learnedDee Doylenoreply@blogger.comBlogger611100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-78894489140944629542012-01-29T12:17:00.000-08:002012-01-29T18:22:45.403-08:00

Yesterday,  I painted with Ruby, almost niety-five years old, who will forget more than I will ever learn.  We did some tulips with a hard edge, then sprayed the other edge.  I have done a little of this before, but not enough.  It was good to laser focus on one aspect of painting in washes.  I intend to do more with watercolor than I have done lately.  So much to do and learn, and so little time

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-83965666364809194072012-01-20T18:46:00.000-08:002012-01-22T10:54:16.200-08:00

Am still snowed in, but rain is washing it away and temps are rising .  Even so, today was not a good day to be out.  The governor declared a state of emergency, well justified south of here.  We, up here in Skagit County dodged the bullet, but snow and ice were still hazardous. So, in an effort to not go too stir crazy, I did a quick sketch of my granddaughter who was a Flower Girl in her

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-46615751826450876842012-01-18T12:28:00.000-08:002012-01-18T22:25:34.671-08:00

You might have heard, the Pacific Northwest is snowed in today.  So, putting other chores aside, I dragged out a palette knife and my acrylics and fiddled with the Hot Air Balloon Challenge due at the Whatcom Art Gujild meeting on Monday evening.  I hadn't intended to do anything for this challenge, but what's a girl to do when snowed in on a hill that is covered with snow and ice, and no sled or

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-13451664832586061452012-01-17T20:17:00.000-08:002012-01-18T22:20:13.812-08:00

This painting was submitted to this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge  ... It's the Tangerine Tango Challenge.  Who knew? I am playing with a technique new to me that I learned in a Jennifer Bowman workshop on Sunday.  Although I have used black gesso before [successfully IMHO], Jennifer showed me a technique of dragging a loaded brush over the gessoed  canvas, allowing some of the black canvas

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-40593653247510947022012-01-11T20:55:00.000-08:002012-01-12T22:08:24.046-08:00

Today, and then again on Saturday, I taught/will teach another Batik Workshop.  That means ganging all my thrift shop fry pans, irons and hair dryers, as well as an obligatory fire extinguisher, into the senior center, along wih what seems like reams of rice paper, paints, etc. to share with thirteen students for a day. It also means I really have to amp up my game, and do some new work to share

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-33552567847171436302012-01-03T10:17:00.000-08:002012-01-03T10:17:56.881-08:00

Oh, I am glad to have "done" the holidays and all the related activities, both with art and with celebrations.  I have missed blogging, and intend to catch up by sharing some projects I have done and am working on.  I was probably most pleased to have finished two paintings for my son and daughter-in-law in time for Chirstmas.  They live across the country, and my son is currently overseas, so,

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-54959014204804608582011-11-19T18:59:00.000-08:002011-11-20T08:55:33.025-08:00

It's been a while since I posted, and I almost feel a little guilty.  But, like the rest of you, I have been slammed with getting ready for holiday shows, prepping for lessons, etc.  My blog just had to take a back seat to all of the rest!  I have missed my blog community.  Even though I haven't been around, I know all of you are here and will be here as I come and go! I have held a couple of

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-76146613893970762592011-09-04T16:22:00.000-07:002011-09-04T16:24:28.384-07:00

Have spent too much time on this already, so  I think I can call this one done!  It may not be "finished,"  but it IS done! [Until I fiddle again.]  No, no more fiddling.  It "feels" better than the two previous posts.  Another opportunity for growth!  Onto the next.  Maybe I can knock one out tonight, now that I have worked out the bugs ... sort of.

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-84081825154599260872011-09-03T22:13:00.000-07:002011-09-04T16:24:03.367-07:00

Never to do things halfway, I got a little nuts with my fiddling.  Too little?  Too much?  Have really gotten away from what I intended to do, but isn't that the way?  Take risks, punch through to the next place.  Sometimes it works, sometimes, not so much.  Will sit with this for a day or two ...

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-55117128820104770392011-09-02T20:33:00.000-07:002011-09-02T20:33:46.123-07:00

Yes, I paint in other media than watercolor batik!  Here's an 18 x 24 acrylic I just did for a local show related to "Mother Earth."  Will enter it next week.   At this point, I am just propping it up to look at it.  It needs a few tweaks, I think. seeing the image on my computer, the violet is too much and should probably be knocked down a bit.  The good news and bad news is that Photoshop

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-29113420942062905082011-08-28T17:09:00.000-07:002011-08-28T17:09:01.629-07:00

Have been away for a while ... the hurrier I go, the behinder I get.  Am trying to finish up summer classes and prepare for early fall classes, and I get "clutched."  So, I went back to doing some watercolor batiks to relax into and play a little bit.  Well, of course, I am still clutched.  Got to punch through! So, I took an old "blah" watercolor  of mine, and copied it onto some rice paper. 

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-81491615450210638912011-07-27T09:22:00.000-07:002011-07-27T09:52:37.066-07:00

8" x 8" unframed $100 for the pair or $60 each  plus $8 shipping for one or both  8" x 8" unframed $100 for the pair, or $60 each plus $8 shipping for one or both Woo hoo!  I had no idea that I would win this challenge, because I really don't "know" trucks.  I did them more to practice watercolor batik than to compete in the challenge.  Another nice thing happened.  I sold two paintings

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-69269770825981046392011-07-20T20:17:00.000-07:002011-07-20T20:28:15.895-07:00

Watercolor Batik Koi Approximately 18 x 24 inches Well, I couldn't wait.  Had to finish it.  Lately, with these batiks, my iron is getting more of a work out than it has in the last twenty years!  As I mentioned in my early koi post, I was concerned about a few little tears in the paper, but have solved the issue by cropping them out!  When in doubt, crop it out!  Am sort of pleased with the

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-79821191157465294162011-07-20T18:43:00.000-07:002011-07-20T18:43:49.934-07:00

Watercolor batik koi painting WIP 24 x 24 inches ~ Two waxings so far Initial drawing in pen and ink with ultra fine sharpie Am continuing to explore and experiment with watercolor batik ... a few steps forward and a few steps back.  One of my forward steps was that I sold my batik reflective glass set-up from the Daily Paintworks Challenge [linked to Daily Paintworks in a previous post].

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-54150821477792461242011-07-10T21:22:00.000-07:002011-07-14T10:27:08.712-07:00

With my "kitchen studio" permanently installed on the counter, I decided to do the Whatcom Art Guild Monthly Challenge in batik as well [see earlier post below].  I otherwise would not seek out trucks to paint, but it's the club challenge, so why not have some fun with it in watercolor batik?  And, yes, I had so much fun doing the first one, I did a second one today, as there were two views of

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-57847313825471658282011-07-10T21:01:00.000-07:002011-07-13T16:34:15.922-07:00

Glass and fuit on a mirror tile from a set up similar to what I use in class This week's Daily Paintworks Weekly Challenge is to paint reflections, so I did another batik.  Practice makes perfect!  So, I am a ways from perfection, but enjoying the process.  My kitchen has become my batik studio with a thrift shop electric fry pan and my "retired" iron sort of permanent fixtures on my counter.

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-67001154221769827202011-07-05T20:29:00.000-07:002011-07-05T20:29:58.631-07:00

Heron in Watercolor Batik Okay, I am working on it, and am going to call my foray into this fun way of painting, a WIP.  Do I get to call myself an experimental artist? I am sharing with you because I have no idea if these things are any good, or even "art" [I'm talking about my work, not the batiks of the many incredible artists who do these so well]. Love the process, and they are fun to do,

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-30335790426689412752011-06-26T20:50:00.000-07:002011-06-27T07:44:50.652-07:00

Double the pleasure, double the fun, I did this week's challenge on the Daily Paintworks site [Daily Paintworks Weekly Challenge],The Old Mill, in watercolor batik, and a new [to me] medium.  After reading the most recent "Watercolor Artist" Magazine, with a how to article on watercolor batiking by Kathie George, I have been doing a handful of practice batiks, with a modicum of success.  I

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-46859914383030931652011-06-19T19:21:00.000-07:002011-06-21T22:18:20.973-07:00

Well, this is it This week's Daily Paintworks Challenge [ DPW ] was to paint a Revere bowl and a couple slices of watermelons on a reflective surface, with the reference turned UPSIDE DOWN.  It's a good lesson for learning to really SEE what you are painting.  Good stuff, and a lesson in humility.  I had to turn it right side up toward the end of my painting it to tweek it.  Stretching, always

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-48928310725012340552011-06-13T22:39:00.000-07:002011-06-21T19:52:10.829-07:00

 From 2010 Governor's Cup in La Conner, Washington Acrylic 18 x 24 on black gessoed canvas  These were a little more fun than the little project below.  It still falls under the heading of "experiment," because of the black gesso.  I like the effects of the black peaking through, but I have concerns that I might have left it a little rough.  Although I really am trying to be looser, I am not

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-80291824269761642412011-06-13T22:03:00.000-07:002011-06-13T22:05:40.737-07:00

Since I went to a Carla O'Connor workshop at the end of April, I have been experimenting with gold gesso.  Not too much success ... not enough to post, in my estimation.  So, I did this little demo in an acrylics class today, and am not sure whether I like it or not.  I think I have overdone it on the one hand, but it feels as if I missed something on the other.  Just am not sure I like it.  But,

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-61547815633718974122011-05-31T21:43:00.000-07:002011-05-31T21:43:58.128-07:00

Polo player from the La Conner, Washington team, July 2010 ~ Acrylic mixed media Here's another polo player from the Governor's Cup last year.  I just so enjoy the matches!  I crank off at least two hundred images a day during the festivities.  Aren't digital cameras great?   

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-87336586242570454872011-05-31T21:14:00.000-07:002011-05-31T21:27:06.355-07:00

This past weekend was the Whatcom Art Guild's Art By the Lake Show.  A lot of energy and a number of events packed into the four days, starting with set-up on Friday.  Friday night was the Wearable Art Fashion Show and Reception.  It was a first time effort by club members yet talent and creativity in the pieces designed and worn by members were spectacular.  Two members created wearable art

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-52134666293317520202011-05-18T20:16:00.000-07:002011-05-19T17:11:44.400-07:00

Have been so busy, I have been able to post for a while.  I have to make this quick, but wanted to share my kitty cat that I did for the Daily Paintworks Challenge this week.  Love doing the challenges, but have submitted only two.  I need to carve out more painting time for ME!  Am not complaining, really.  I am delighted that I am now teaching six classes a week.  Oh, the classes arent big,

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-48459664866218647602011-05-02T19:57:00.000-07:002011-05-02T20:00:06.636-07:00

Am just winding down from a really busy week, and, well, a busy month.  The past three and a half days [left early to teach a class], I spent in a Carla O'Connor workshop ... have been wanting to go to one of her workshops for several years, and found that she was doing one in La Conner at Dakota Arts this past week.  I couldn't pass it up!  Money was tough, but with gas costing so much, and not

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-58516470765066641802011-04-18T20:33:00.000-07:002011-04-18T20:33:18.657-07:00

I have been doing so much sketching with my Doc Martin Hydrus watercolors, I thought I might have forgotten how to paint.  I found a charming reference photo in Wet Canvas Reference Library, and did this while watching Upstairs Downstairs last night. Girl in Gold Skirt on Purple Chair 6 x 8 on  gessoed "bad" painting The colors didn't scan too well, and Photoshop didn't warm it up as it is in

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-49039877420125112422011-04-13T21:28:00.000-07:002011-04-13T21:56:05.053-07:00

A model new to our group, and I really didn't get into a rhythym with her until this 20 minute pose. [if that's what does or doesn't happen with artists and models ... I don't know, but that's the only way I know to express myself in this instance ...].  I said to my friend who was sketching with me, that I guess the learning has to do as much with who is put in front of you as to do with how 

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-54629641669396102242011-04-11T22:33:00.000-07:002011-04-11T22:35:18.942-07:00

Well, I did something for the first time ... I entered  The DPW Painting Challenge! - The Chicken Challenges, and had fun sketching a chicken. Out of my comfort zone, and into the fray. Gulp! What the cluck!

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-18488890946981342052011-04-10T19:18:00.000-07:002011-04-10T20:05:32.631-07:00

Last Thursday, we scheduled a session of self-portraits in my Figures and Faces Acrylics class.  What fun it was!  I bought ten stand-up mirrors from the Dollar Store, and told the students that yes, they needed to plan on sketching a relatively good likeness of themselves first, and then, to get creative with their painting of self portraits ... bring hats, change the geometry of their likeness,

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-9589900751691361452011-04-06T19:45:00.000-07:002011-04-06T19:47:20.237-07:00

A busy time last week and the beginning of this week, so I am a little bit behind in posting.  Art Bash, Art League North's offering to the Tulip Festival festivities, opened Friday evening to a great and supportive group of neighbor's and friends.  The economy must be perking up a tad, as there were a few sales, two of which were mine!  Thank you, local art lovers! I didn't post last week's

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-58488012136432687432011-03-29T17:07:00.000-07:002011-03-30T09:21:24.715-07:00

Yes, I feel that I am a sketcher-phrenic.  I am enjoying sketching, and certainly have enjoyed the group I have been sketching with, and, I also enjoy the other work I am doing with different media.  I am a Jack [or Jill] of all trades and master of none, I suppose.  Coming back to creating and making art late, I want to do it all ... well and fast!  All that said, I feel a bit conflicted about

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-48393319646900489042011-03-23T23:01:00.000-07:002011-06-21T22:00:35.887-07:00

Yikes, the Tulip Festival starts April 1st, as do the many art shows in barns and other venues punctuating the acres and acres of tulips and daffodils in Skagit Valley. Art League North's Art Bash will be in The Farmhouse Restaurant [at the corner of SR 20 and La Conner -Whitney Road] for the second year. And I am not ready!  I have been SO busy teaching and running around the county in the name

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-53009674414084423852011-03-22T20:02:00.000-07:002011-03-22T22:09:35.177-07:00

Cropped from a ten-minute pose.  She thought she could hold her neck like that, but found it was too much.  Glad I got it before she gave up on the pose. On Arches cold press 140# with Doc Martins Hydrus Watercolors and American Journey watercolor stick Twenty minute from the mirror on Tyvek with Doc Martins Hydrus Watercolor and American Journey watercolor stick 

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-6225858992956040202011-03-21T21:30:00.000-07:002011-03-21T21:43:35.395-07:00

This past Saturday was lovely and sunny, the day before the start of spring.  It was so great to see the sun, but, it was REALLY breezy with a little chill in the air.  It didn't matter, though, because the Saturday group of painters went outside and clipped a few sprigs of blossoms and painted them from inside.  Fair?  Not plein air, but close!  Here's a quick sketch that was fun light-hearted

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-10449444413305858872011-03-16T21:32:00.000-07:002011-03-16T22:14:11.452-07:00

I spent the afternoon sketching with some great folks from the Whidbey Island Sketchers group in Langley at a tiny little micro brew place.  As the new kid, I felt very welcomed and comfortable.  Since I haven't been out sketching with a group very much, I was a tad tentative at first, but shortly got in to the swing of things.  I brought my Doc Martins [paints not boots] and continued to

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-87322432396786257572011-03-15T17:00:00.000-07:002011-03-22T22:13:02.832-07:00

Patricia ~ 30 minute pose with Flair pen and Doc Martin Hydrus watercolors Am pushing through my feeling of awkwardness with the Doc Martin Hydrus watercolors, but still don't feel I have accomplished what I have been hoping for.  I want to be looser, yet, have an economy of strokes and clear and confident applications of color ... not necessarily the "right" colors, but colors that "work." 

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-77454891988321504832011-03-13T22:27:00.000-07:002011-03-13T22:29:28.296-07:00

I like this bird better, but went too far with the background I got a little heavy-handed with the spray bottle We painted robins on Saturday, while it was pouring with rain, and the wind was gusting to 40-50 knots.  It was kind of fun to immerse ourselves in painting robins, harbingers of spring.  I am still playing with my Doc Martin Hydrus watercolors, so I tried  to make mine have a

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-56877745497621471332011-03-08T15:18:00.000-08:002011-03-22T22:13:58.895-07:00

Ten minute pose charcoal  Ten minute pose on Tyvek with Dr Martins Hydrus Watercolors ~ A little heavy-handed on the sap green to offset the indian red that also got heavy-handed!  Twenty minute pose on 140# Arches with Dr Martins Hydrus Watercolors ~ More ultramarine on this one.  It works better, I think  Twenty minute pose on Arches 140# Dr Martins Hydrus Watercolors Twenty

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-22633962544966765522011-03-06T16:39:00.000-08:002011-03-12T21:16:19.084-08:00

 Have you been to the Virtual Paintout blog [Virtual Paintout] yet? I am hooked on the concept, but haven't submitted anything so far.   Blogger Bill Guffey hosts the site and challenges artists to use the Street View of Google Maps to locate a "site" and do a virtual plein aire image of what the artists find in the designated city of the month. The current city is Cape Town South Africa, and

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-43682176048724274082011-03-01T21:16:00.000-08:002011-03-02T07:47:55.068-08:00

Ten minute pose is tight.  The model was tight, and I was tight Awkward ten minute pose and a play with Tyvek and Doc Martins Of the bunch, this was my favorite, but can you see how tight she is?  That doesn't excuse MY tightness but it added to the challenge  Another twenty minute pose and still tight.  Not my favorite model  This one is from last week's session.  Better sketch,

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-3129221259959724662011-03-01T17:09:00.000-08:002011-03-02T11:49:45.704-08:00

The snow is almost gone, and Skagit Valley will soon be ablaze with color.  Acres and acres of tulips bracketed by the foothills of the Cascades and Puget Sound.  The month-long Annual Tulip Festival starts April 1st, and so will an abundance of art shows presented by the various art groups in the Valley.  So many artists paint tulips, of course, because that's what visitors buy when they are

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-59578513044442247852011-02-25T07:45:00.000-08:002011-02-28T20:45:39.800-08:00

Some of my students just started a sketch group recently, and I was able to join them on Monday because I didni't have to teach.  It was great fun and, now that I have been snowed in for a couple of days, I appreciate the opportunity even more.  We met at a local luncheon place, and because it was President's Day, there was more activy than usual, and lots of subjects to sketch.  We had to work

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-60988028108921601842011-02-24T13:26:00.000-08:002011-02-28T21:36:57.067-08:00

Well, it's not that there's so much snow, although there is a lot, it's the ice that makes getting off my hill pretty treacherous.  So, I am trying to pay attention to chores having gone undone for a while, and updating my blog. I haven't written since I went to Myrna Wacknov's Variations Five Day Workshop in Portland [http://www.myrnawacknov.blogspot.com/ ], where, with one image she sent

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-49985712243128911022011-01-18T20:11:00.000-08:002011-03-01T08:06:44.408-08:00

As much as I enjoy seeing other artists' blogs updated almost on a daily basis, I am afraid I have been so not able to devote time and attention to my blog.  It's not that I haven't been painting, I have been painting for classes and student demonstrations.  As many of you know, I have been creating calendars from watercolor paintings I have done during each of the past four years.  It might be

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-9408569309133309562010-09-05T09:31:00.000-07:002011-02-28T21:40:46.569-08:00

I haven't played with knives for years.  The only classroom experience with them was more than thirty-five years ago in an adult ed oil class.  I remember loving the resulting textures and effects, even though I wasn't sure if I were doing it "right."  I am still not sure if I am doing it right, but I have been fooling around, and, again/still I am intrigued by the texture.  Here are two

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-17115040010267821652010-08-31T17:46:00.000-07:002011-02-28T21:13:34.981-08:00

Folks ask me which medium I enjoy the most, and I have to say, the one I am working in at the moment.  To be sure, I find painting with acrylics exciting and forgiving, and I have said it before, acrylics make me smile. But I so enjoy doing watercolors when I am doing them.  I love the way colors mingle and surprise me, and the way happy accidents [hackneyed phrase but true] can also make me

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-53633010348225888752010-08-29T14:23:00.000-07:002011-02-28T21:29:27.759-08:00

Well, I'm really taking the advice of all who know, and tell us to check values and to not be a slave to the source.  When I first painted a little series of poppies from my garden with acrylics, I was relatively pleased, because they were MY poppies, in MY garden.  But, I wasn't really thrilled with the paintings.  First one So, lately, I have been observing and advising students and painting

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-67094179629137385642010-08-29T13:32:00.000-07:002011-03-01T08:07:19.384-08:00

I so enjoyed workshop with Nicholas Simmons at Kanuga Watercolors Workshop in Hendersonville, North Carolina, in April, that I wanted to do more.  I've been teaching both watercolors and acrylics at the local Senior Centers, and shared my experience of Nick's workshop with my students.  Nick showed us that these geishas [and his process] could be done in both watercolors and acrylics. Pouring,

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-62782904241094007902010-07-26T10:28:00.000-07:002011-02-28T21:23:11.973-08:00

Am more of a painter than a gardener, but these irises indeed were in my garden this spring.  I think of irises as hardy yet vulnerable and "feminine" and frilly, sort of a reflection of who I sometimes think I am.  In any case, I like them and paint them each spring, always with mixed and different results.  This year, I painted the first image in a quick sort of traditional way, adding the

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-33338638775700953742010-06-28T22:19:00.000-07:002011-02-28T21:26:05.409-08:00

I decided to upload the chickadees that weren't tweeked in Photoshop.  Still not great, but it may be more pleasing to the eye.  The "real" colors are somewhere between this post and the last one.

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-36353704952443418322010-06-28T21:55:00.000-07:002011-02-28T21:25:05.031-08:00

I took a class on Saturday in which everyone was using the same reference to paint chickadees, so of course, I wanted to do something different.  I changed a photo of some chickadees and painted the birds in the style the instructor was teaching.  My little chickadees were HORRIBLE!  When I get to that place that I give up on a painting, I figure, what the hell, and start "playing."  I pulled

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-15384908728288922402010-06-28T13:26:00.000-07:002011-02-28T21:37:44.278-08:00

I took a photo of one of my clients' azalea bush the other morning, because it was just after a gentle rain, and the sun was shining, causing the raindrops to twinkle on the blossoms.  I love the photo as a photo, but I wanted to paint more the impression of the blossoms than a botanical image [frankly I haven't the patience to do much detail!].  I also wanted to practice with the lizard lick

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-70471638634693709652010-06-23T23:39:00.000-07:002011-02-28T21:22:37.001-08:00

I have a few wonderful random poppy plants in my garden, and love the virbrant reds and oranges when they bloom.  I rush to take photos of them, because the blooms fade and the petals fall so quickly.   Here's a photo "posterized" in Photoshop to help me see the larger value shapes. After experiementing with some fluid acrylis on Tyvek, I created a dead dull mess of a poppy, so I just had to

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-14161993234729787982010-06-15T21:55:00.000-07:002011-02-28T21:42:14.174-08:00

It's been more than six weeks since I made an entry.  Although I'd rather be painting [!] I have been busy putting my house on the market, listing other properties, and teaching classes, all of which allow me to paint. Aside from all of that, I "lost" my blog for a while as a result of email and connectivity issues, but am sort of back on track.  Hopefully, I can get back to making blog entries

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-2470114543763323032010-04-26T14:28:00.000-07:002011-02-28T21:36:26.763-08:00

Coincidently the timing of the two workshops I attended this month was great in terms of visiting family and painting with terrific artists.  I was in Portland last week for the Oregon Society of Artists [OSA], who sponsored the three-day workshop with Myrna Wacknov [Myrna Wacknov's Blog], whose work has excited me for quite some time.  I have been following her blog, and have seen articles and

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-81999078327609750332010-04-26T10:37:00.000-07:002011-02-28T21:35:41.929-08:00

After two different workshops and two special visits with family [on both coasts], my batteries are recharged and I'm ready for lots of artmaking and sharing of wonderful lessons learned this past month. [Will post about Myrna Wacknov's workshop later today.] The first workshop was for five days at the Kanuga Watercolors Workshops, in Hendersonville, North Carolina, where a dozen first class

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-49528791807969452252010-04-01T21:10:00.001-07:002011-02-28T21:39:54.724-08:00

For the last four weeks, I taught a class called "Outside the Box," an extension of an eight-week Figures and Faces series I taught at the local Senior Center.  During the first eight weeks, we learned a few fundamentals of drawing and painting figures in pretty traditional ways.  The students wanted more at the end of the series, so I said we could do another four week course that would have a "

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-72421204527074661572010-03-03T09:35:00.001-08:002011-02-28T21:45:44.738-08:00

Am learning how I can make my blog more interesting, so I have uploaded a few images at random as a test. Am hoping to add more slide shows that make more sense later on, but right now, this is a test.

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-91991514511783659202010-02-27T18:58:00.000-08:002011-02-28T21:39:01.013-08:00

The past two summers here in La Conner in Skagit Valley, Washington, polo matches have been played.  As a young girl, I thoroughly enjoyed attending and watching polo matches. What an adrenalin rush!  And now they were having matches not five miles from where I live.  What a treat! As most artist do, I carry at least two cameras in the car most of the time.  The first time I saw the matches going

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-52398622673523559962010-02-24T18:14:00.000-08:002011-02-28T21:48:59.382-08:00

Just like putting the first dab of color on a clean piece of paper, I hesitated making an entry today, but I was so pleased with the positive feedback I have been getting about my maiden voyage into the Wonderful World of Blogging!  Am excited about learning a new thing, and even more excited about sharing art and thoughts.  Don't know what's next, but so far so good. Some of you liked "Diane,"

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1609673785795703075.post-69626386942883643322010-02-22T15:58:00.000-08:002011-02-28T21:51:04.871-08:00

Am not sure who, if anyone will be reading this, but I am posting for the first time, just to see how the blog works.  I am feeling a bit shy about "hanging" my art [small "a"] on the site, as there are so many excellent artists' blogs.  I think I will learn my way around the site and get a feel for who puts what on theirs. It is because of visiting several really great art blogs that I finally

Dee Doylenoreply@blogger.com2